Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, helps vaccinate almost half the world’s children against deadly and debilitating infectious diseases

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, helps vaccinate almost half the world’s children against deadly and debilitating infectious diseases

As part of its mission to save lives, reduce poverty and protect the world against the threat of epidemics, Gavi has helped vaccinate more than 760 million children in the world’s poorest countries, preventing more than 13 million deaths

Gavi has already protected an entire generation of children, and is now working to protect the next generation.

By improving access to new and under-used vaccines for millions of the most vulnerable children, the Vaccine Alliance is transforming the lives of individuals, helping to boost the economies of low-income countries and making the world safer for everyone.

Gavi has already protected an entire generation of children, and is now working to protect the next generation.

By improving access to new and under-used vaccines for millions of the most vulnerable children, the Vaccine Alliance is transforming the lives of individuals, helping to boost the economies of low-income countries and making the world safer for everyone.

The Power of Partnership

Gavi’s impact draws on the strengths of its core partners, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and plays a critical role in strengthening primary health care (PHC), bringing us closer to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), ensuring that no one is left behind.

Gavi also works with donors, including sovereign governments, private sector foundations and corporate partners; NGOs, advocacy groups, professional and community associations, faith-based organisations and academia; vaccine manufacturers, including those in emerging markets; research and technical health institutes; and developing country governments.

Gavi’s impact draws on the strengths of its core partners, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and plays a critical role in strengthening primary health care (PHC), bringing us closer to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), ensuring that no one is left behind.

Gavi also works with donors, including sovereign governments, private sector foundations and corporate partners; NGOs, advocacy groups, professional and community associations, faith-based organisations and academia; vaccine manufacturers, including those in emerging markets; research and technical health institutes; and developing country governments.

When Melinda and I started this work more than a decade ago, we were inspired by the conviction that “all lives have equal value.” So one of the first things we invested in was vaccines, which protect all children who receive them, no matter how rich or poor they may be. In short, vaccines work.

Bill Gates

Co-Chair, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Gavi’s impact

More children survive. The increase in immunisation has helped halve childhood mortality by preventing approximately 13 million deaths and dramatically driven down the incidence of deadly and debilitating infectious diseases.

Nation building thrives.As children become healthier, they, their families, communities and countries are more able to be economically prosperous and socially stable. For every US$ 1 invested in vaccines in Gavi-supported countries, there is a US$ 54 return in savings from averted illness and broader societal benefits of people living longer, healthier lives. To date, Gavi-supported vaccines have helped generate more than US$ 150 billion in economic benefits since 2000.

And global health security improves. In the face of global challenges, such as climate change, urbanisation, human migration, fragility and conflict, Gavi has helped countries broaden vaccine coverage and improve their health systems. This makes them less susceptible and better able to prevent disease outbreaks that pose a threat to people in these countries, protecting millions of others around the world.

Statistics measuring our impact on global immunisation

Statistics measuring our impact on global immunisation

History

By the late 1990s, the progress of international immunisation programmes was stalling. Nearly 30 million children in developing countries were not fully immunised against deadly diseases, and many others went without any immunisation at all.

At the heart of the challenge was an acute market failure; powerful new vaccines were becoming available, but developing countries simply could not afford most vaccines.

In response, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a group of founding partners brought to life an elegant solution to encourage manufacturers to lower vaccine prices for the poorest countries in return for long-term, high-volume and predictable demand from those countries.

In 2000, that breakthrough idea became the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation – today Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

By the late 1990s, the progress of international immunisation programmes was stalling. Nearly 30 million children in developing countries were not fully immunised against deadly diseases, and many others went without any immunisation at all.

At the heart of the challenge was an acute market failure; powerful new vaccines were becoming available, but developing countries simply could not afford most vaccines.

In response, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a group of founding partners brought to life an elegant solution to encourage manufacturers to lower vaccine prices for the poorest countries in return for long-term, high-volume and predictable demand from those countries.

In 2000, that breakthrough idea became the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation – today Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

A Proven Model

Gavi now vaccinates almost half of the world’s children, giving it tremendous power to negotiate vaccines at prices that are affordable for the poorest countries and to remove the commercial risks that previously kept manufacturers from serving them.

Because of these market shaping efforts, the cost of fully-immunising a child with all 11 WHO-recommended childhood vaccines now costs US$ 28 in Gavi-supported countries, compared to about US$ 1,100 in the US. At the same time, the pool of manufacturers producing prequalified Gavi -supported vaccines has grown from five in 2001 (with one in Africa) to 17 in 2017 (with 11 in Africa, Asia and Latin America).

Gavi shares the cost developing countries pay for vaccines, which has resulted in more than 460 vaccine campaigns and dramatically boosted immunisation against virulent diseases. For example, in 2000, 3% of low-income countries administered the Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine that protects against diseases like pneumonia and meningitis. Today, Gavi has enabled all low-income countries to introduce this vaccine. So far, 15 countries that were formerly supported by Gavi have begun to fully self-finance their national vaccination programmes.